Hair drier



C. CHEDISTER HAIR DRIER Filed Nov. l0

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y C@ @m Patented Feb. 9, 195% UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAIR DRIER Conkling Chedister, Livingston, N. J.

Application November 10, 1949, Serial No. 126,474

9 Claims. (C1. 34-99) The present invention relates to a novel and improved drier to dry the hair of a womans head.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangement, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic view showing the drier of my invention in use;

Figure 2 is a sectional View with certain parts broken away to show the interior construction of my drier; and

Figure 3 is a schematic wiring diagram of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The present invention has for its object the provision of a light weight, portable drier which may be supported on a womans head and which will dry the hair in much less than the usual time. A further object is the provision of a hair drier which is completely safe in operation, will not burn the hair, is comfortable, does not cause any wind-burn or parching of the skin and operates at a low and safe voltage. Still another object is the provision of a hair drier which can be economically made, is simple in construction and eflicient in operation, drying hair with comfort in a shorter time than many other driers which consume several times as much power in operation.

In accordance with the present invention and particularly the preferred embodiment, there is provided a pair of porous somewhat tapered sheaths formed of heat resistant insulating material, between which is positioned a resistance heating element of relatively large area and so shaped that as the sheaths enclose the scalp the heating element is distributed about the head of hair to be dried. A iiexible ring is provided which encircles the head at the forehead and is connected to the sheaths so that the entire apparatus may be supported on the users head. At the top of the tapered sheaths, there is a relatively large opening for the escape of the air4 which is drawn through the porous sheaths and has been heated in passing over or through the resistance heating elements and has also passed over or through the moist hair so that it is heated and moisture laden and is therefore lighter and tends to rise.

The resistance heating elements are positioned close to the hair, but are prevented from contacting therewith by means of the inner sheath. For controlling the heating elements and for supplying current to them at a safe voltage, they are fed by a variable voltage transformer which preferably delivers a maximum voltage of about 24 Volts. These heating elements are preferably formed of thin stampedout sheets of suitable resistance'alloy, such as Nichrome providing a large over-al1 area, with numerous slots through which air may pass as it feeds through the porous sheaths enclosing the resistance elements.

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following' detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory of the invention but are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in detail to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the drawings, the drier includes an inner sheath l0 and an outer sheath l2 which are coextensive and positioned close to each other, both sheaths being of a generally frusto-conical shape with a relatively large open upper end I4 and an inwardly curved depending hood i6 to t over the hair at the lower back portion of the head. The inner and outer sheaths are preferably formed of porous heat resistant textile fabric in which the openings between adjacent Warp and filling yarns are approximately as wide as the diameter of the yarns, thereby giving from 20 to 40% porosity. The sheath layers are heat resistant and will withstand temperatures of 300 F. for extended periods, and I have found that flexible glass textile fabrics are ideally suited to the purpose, as they are reproof and of light weight.

The conical sheaths are supported and held in their conical shape by means of an internal wire frame comprising an upper ring 26), a lower ring 22 and a plurality of spacer struts 2li, the struts interconnecting the rings and the sheaths i0 and I2 being sewed or otherwise held to the rings. Certain oi the struts 24 extend downwardly and are inwardly curved and connected at their lower ends to a wire frame member 26 which is also secured to the lower ring 22. A

n) flexible band member 2'I supports the sheaths I0 and I2, and ring member 22 of the internal wire frame when the drier is in use. The band 21 is connected to ring member by clips 28. In use, the band rests in front on the forehead and in the rear on hair at the back of the head as can be readily seen in Fig. 1.

Between the sheaths I and I2 and covering a large part, preferably at least one-third of their area, are the resistance heating elements 30, 3l. The resistance is preferably divided into a plurality of elements each of which is formed from a thin sheet, from .003 to .008 thick of a resistance alloy, such as Nichrome, or other poorly conductive material which will be durable at the operating temperature, usually from 200 to 250 F. The elements are usually formed as a strip the opposite edges of which are alternately slotted, as at 32 to provide a long resistance path of generally uniform cross section so that it will be evenly heated by the passage of current through it. These elements are preferably similar in thickness and slotting and are connected in series so that their temperature will be about the same. Two such elements substantially encircle the head and a third shorter element 3I is provided at the back and bottom of the drier to heat the lower portion of the head of hair.

The heater elements are positioned between the sheaths I and I2 and are held in position, as by sewing. As shown in Figure 3, the elements are connected in series by flexible, good conductors 34 and are supplied with power, preferably at a maximum voltage of 24 volts, by

means of a variable transformer 36 so that the voltage may be varied from about 16 to 24 volts under control of the user by manipulation of the adjustment knob 38, and may be connected to the usual mains by plug 39. The cross section and length of the resistance elements are so proportional that under the conditions of air circulation, they will be heated to a low temperature, such as 200 F. at 24 volts input.

In order to increase the flow of air over the heater elements 30, 3l, the lower edges of the sheaths I0 and I2 may be inturned to form a very loose fit with the forehead of the user, as at 40, thereby restricting the ow of cold air onto the forehead and scalp, and increasing relatively the ow of air as shown by the arrows in Figure 1.

For securing the drier so the user may wear it in comfort and without holding her head erect at all times, a chin strap 42 is provided which is detachably connected to the depending skirt or lower edge of the outer sheath I2.

The operation of the drier is radically different than that of a conventional hair drier, and the operation, and some of its advantages may be summarized as follows: v

The drier is completely quiet in operation, due to the absence of any fan or other forced air circulation. Y l

The set of the hair is not disturbedby high speed jets of air or excessive turbulence.

The heaters never exceed a low temperature of about 200 F., whereas conventional heating elements generally operate at a dull red heat.

No air enters the drier and passes to the hair except after it has been heated.

The entire weight of the drier is comfortably supported on the head giving complete portability and affording the user the opportunity of walking or standing so she may dry her hair and, for instance, iron or do other household tasks.

The hair is closer to the heating elements than usual and attains a slightly higher temperature than usual, although there is less circulation of air over the scalp and consequently less danger of wind burn or reddening of the scalp.

The drier shell is light weight and porous and the heater elements completely encircle the head of hair and have an area approximately onethird of the area of the drier surface.

The transmission of heat from the heating elements to the moist hair is largely by radiation and as the outer layers of hair are dried, the heat rays become more penetrating and dry the inner layers of the hair.

Using about watts, instead of the customary 800 watts,- the drier of the present invention will dry hair in about one-half the time required by many conventional driers.

Almost no heat is felt on the scalp and none on the forehead while the drying is in progress.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair drier including in combination a pair of air-pervious sheaths of heat resistant material to encircle the head of hair to be dried and providing a large opening at the top end of the sheath, a resistance heater element positioned between said sheaths and in proximity to the hair to be dried, said elements being of thin flexible resistance material and whose area is a relatively large proportion of the area covered by said air pervious sheath and positioned in the path of the air entering through the porous sheath.

2. A hair drier as claimed in claim 1 in which each sheath is provided with a downwardly projecting inturned skirt to reduce the clearance between the lower edge of the sheath and the forehead and back of the head.

3. A hair drier as claimed in claim 1 in which a flexible band is adapted to rest on the forehead and hair at the back of the head, the sheaths are provided with an internal frame and the sheaths and frame are supported on the flexible band.

4. A hair drier as claimed in claim 1 in which the sheath is formed of an open-weave, glass yarn fabric.

5. A hair drier as claimed in claim 2 in which the sheaths are formed of v an open-weave, glass yarn fabric.

6. A hair drier as claimed in claim 5 in which a flexible band is adapted to rest on the forehead and hair at the back of the head, the sheath is provided with an internal frame and the sheath and frame are supported on the flexible band.

'7. A hair drier including in combination a pair of frusto-conical air pervious sheaths nested closely adjacent each other to encircle the head of hair to be dried and having a large opening at the top end of the nested sheaths, a thin resistance heater element whose area is a relatively large proportion of the area covered by said air pervious sheath encircling the head and positioned between said sheaths, in proximity to the hair to be dried and in the path of the air entering through the porous sheath.

8. A hai-r drier as claimed in claim 7 in which 5 the sheaths are made of open-weave, glass yarn fabric and the lower edge of one of the sheaths is inturned to reduce clearance between it and the head of the user.

9. A hair drier as claimed in claim 8 in which the sheaths are flexible and an internal frame is provided for supporting the sheaths.

CONKLING CHEDISTER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 6 Name Date Goldman Cet. 3, 1933 Carter May 18, 1937 Krueger Sept. 14, 1943 Simpson et al. Mar. 28, 1944 Morten Dec. 2, 1947 Amerkan Nov. 22, 1949 

